The present invention relates to an automatic adverse weather rear light system and a corresponding control system for motor vehicles where the corresponding control system serves to detect a decrease in the current visibility conditions due to either adverse weather conditions, smoke, or dust, and further to automatically activate the adverse weather rear light system which is comprised of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources. Also, to avoid outshining either the brake lights or the turn signal/emergency flasher lights the adverse weather rear light system includes a provision to automatically increase the luminous level of these lights to a luminosity which is greater than the luminosity of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources.
The vehicle industry has, for years, primarily focused on increasing the conspicuity of the front of the vehicle with the addition of fog lights and daytime running lights while ignoring the rear of the vehicle which becomes inconspicuous as visibility decreases due to either adverse weather conditions, smoke, or dust. The current luminosity level of the vehicle rear light system is adequate during normal conditions however, the luminosity level is inadequate as visibility decreases due to either adverse weather, smoke, or dust. The fact that the current luminosity level fails to provide adequate conspicuity for the rear of the vehicle is substantiated by the number of rear end collisions, the number of vehicles involved, and the severity of these collisions as the visibility decreases due to either adverse weather conditions, smoke, or dust. It is the objective of the present invention, therefore, to increase the conspicuity of the rear of the vehicle as the visibility decreases, which in turn would significantly reduce the number of rear end collisions, and in such manner as to not outshine either the brake lights or the turn signal/emergency flasher lights, which could result either in an accident or irritate an approaching motorist and incite a road rage incident, which is increasing at an alarming rate.
The concept of a rear fog light system in conjunction with a control system has only recently been introduced in the United States, and only one of these systems submits an adjustable system that is dependent upon ambient light conditions (U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,035 issued to Eberspacher, Gauch, Haf, and Robel in January, 2000), The system further includes a fog tail light which may be turned off upon detection of an approaching vehicle by means of an electrochromic interior rear view mirror. However, such a system embodies several disadvantages. One disadvantage of this system is that it fails to consider the truck population which comprises a significant number of the motor vehicles on the road today, and of these trucks the majority have shells installed on the back which completely block the interior rear view mirror effecting such a system void. A second disadvantage is that this system fails to recognize the fact that tractor trucks, of the rapidly increasing transportation industry, do not provide for an interior rear view mirror which again would nullify such a system. Another disadvantage is that this fails to consider the sport utility and the van population which additionally comprises a significant number of the motor vehicles on the road and introduces a unique issue. It is common for the rear window of such vehicles to become soiled with spray and dirt from the roadways produced by the rear wheels during adverse weather, and the majority of these vehicles do not have rear windshield wipers. The result is that the spray and dirt obstructs the interior rear view mirror and therefore negates such a system. Additionally, during periods of decreased visibility due to adverse weather conditions the system is designed to turn off the rear fog light when a vehicle approaches. The action of where the rear fog light is initially at full luminosity and then extinguished as a vehicle approaches could easily be mistaken, by an approaching motorist, as the application and the release of the brakes and result in a rear end collision.
The rear fog light system and corresponding control system (U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,272 issued to Brassier and Rydel in April, 1999 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,267 issued to Brassier, Rydel, and Medjaoui in September, 1994). also embodies several disadvantages. One major disadvantage of this system is that the rear fog lights would outshine either the brake lights or the turn signal/emergency flasher lights and result in an accident since an approaching motorist would conceivably fail to observe that either the brakes have been applied, the vehicle is signaling a turn, or the vehicle is signaling an roadside emergency with the emergency flashers while parked along the roadway. Another disadvantage of this system is that the rear fog lights have no provisions to reduce the luminosity level between the hours of dusk to dawn such a system therefore could either blind or irritate an approaching motorist and result in either an accident or incite a road rage incident. An additional disadvantage of this system is that there is no provision for the automatic activation of the rear fog lights. Instead, the motor vehicle operator is required to manually activate the rear fog lights upon observing the low visibility warning light, and should the motor vehicle operator fail to observe the low visibility warning and activate the rear fog lights the risk of an accident would be significantly increased. Another disadvantage of these systems is that the operation only addresses limited visibility due to fog and ignores the limited visibility conditions resulting from rain, snow, hail, sleet, smoke, or dust.
The present invention relates to an automatic adverse weather rear light system and a corresponding control system for motor vehicles where the corresponding control system serves to detect a decrease in the current visibility conditions due to either adverse weather conditions, smoke, or dust and, further to automatically activate the adverse weather rear light system which is comprised of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources. Also, to avoid outshining either the brake lights or the turn signal/emergency flasher lights the adverse weather rear light system further includes a provision to automatically increase the luminous level of these lights to a luminosity which is greater than the luminosity of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention the adverse weather rear light system is comprised of a light source or light sources which are positioned such as to increase the conspicuity of the rear of the non-represented vehicle, and where the light source or light sources may be either a separate light source or light sources or an integral part of any light source or light sources of the vehicle. The adverse weather rear light system is further comprised of a control system which collects current environmental conditions: relative humidity, temperature, ambient light, and current visibility conditions where such a system is commercially available from SENTEC Corporation (U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,288 issued to Sawatari, Gaubis, and Chametski in November 1999). The control system further collects the current state of the vehicle: the state of the ignition switch, the state of the windshield wiper switch, the state of the brake pedal switch, the state of turn signal switch, and the state of the emergency flasher switch. The microcontroller unit serves to receive and combine the current environmental conditions with that of the current state of the vehicle to determine if the conditions are such as to warrant the automatic activation of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources and to automatically increase the luminous level of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights to a luminosity which is greater than the luminosity of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources. If the visibility conditions have decreased to a predetermined low visibility threshold limit due to adverse weather conditions, smoke, or dust, the adverse weather rear light system would then automatically energize to the luminous level as prescribed by federal or state standards. Likewise, when the current visibility conditions are greater than the low visibility threshold limit the adverse weather rear light system would automatically deactivate.
The adverse weather rear light system, to avoid outshining either the brake lights or the turn signal/emergency flasher lights would also automatically increase the luminosity of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights to a luminous level which is greater than the luminosity of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources. Additionally, when the current visibility conditions are greater than the low visibility threshold limit, the adverse weather rear light system would automatically deactivate, and the luminous level of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights would return to the standard luminous level. Furthermore, to avoid either an accident or incite a road rage incident, which is increasing at an alarming rate, the adverse weather rear light system would automatically reduce the luminous level of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources as well as the luminous level of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency lights during periods of low ambient light. However, the luminosity of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights, would continue to remain greater than the luminosity of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources.
Another preferred embodiment of the adverse weather rear light system is where the system would progressively increase and decrease the luminous level of the light source or light sources. The light source or light sources would automatically activate when visibility conditions decrease to a predetermined low visibility threshold limit due to either adverse weather conditions, smoke, or dust, and the luminosity of the light source or light sources would continue to progressively increase the luminous level of the light source or light sources as the current visibility conditions continue to decrease. Likewise, the luminosity of the light source or light sources would progressively decrease as the current visibility conditions continue to increase, and when the current visibility conditions are greater than the low visibility threshold limit the light source or light sources would then automatically deactivate.
An illustration of this concept is if either the federal or state standards require that the conventional vehicle tail lights are to be visible from a distance of 500 feet and the current visibility conditions decrease from 500 feet to between 500 feet and 450 feet the adverse weather rear light system would automatically activate and the luminous level of the light source or light sources would increase such that the light source or light sources are again visible from 500 feet. If the current visibility conditions further decrease from between 500 and 450 feet to between 450 and 400 feet the luminous level of the light source or light sources would further increase such that the light source or light sources are again visible from 500 feet. Again, if the current visibility conditions further decrease from between 450 and 400 feet to between 300 and 250 feet the luminous level of the light source or light sources would further increase such that the light source or light sources are again visible from 500 feet. When, however, the current visibility conditions increase from between 300 and 250 feet to between 400 and 350 feet then the luminous level of the light source or light sources would decrease such that the light source or light sources are again visible from 500 feet.
The adverse weather rear light system, to avoid outshining either the brake lights or the turn signal/emergency flasher lights, also would progressively increase the luminosity of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights, so that the luminosity of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights would continue to be greater than the luminosity of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources. Additionally, as the luminosity of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources progressively decreases, the luminosity of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights also would progressively decrease. The luminosity of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights, however, would remain greater than the luminosity of the adverse weather rear light source or light sources, and when the adverse weather rear light source or light sources automatically deactivate, and the luminous level of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights would return to the standard luminous level.
An illustration of this concept is if either the federal or state standards require that the conventional vehicle brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights are to be visible from a distance of 700 feet and the current visibility conditions decrease from 500 feet to between 500 feet and 450 feet resulting in the automatic activation of the adverse weather rear light system the luminosity of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights would increase such that these lights are again visible from 700 feet. If the current visibility conditions further decrease from between 500 and 450 feet to between 450 and 400 feet the luminous level of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights would further increase such that the light source or light sources are again visible from 700 feet. Again, if the current visibility conditions further decrease from between 450 and 400 feet to between 200 and 150 feet the luminous level of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights would further increase such that these lights would are again visible from 700 feet. When, however, the current visibility conditions increase from between 200 and 150 feet to between 300 and 250 feet the luminous level of the brake lights and the turn signal/emergency flasher lights would then decrease such that these lights are again visible from 700 feet.